


In which Tarvek contemplates his cousin

by Overlord_Bethany



Category: Girl Genius (Webcomic)
Genre: Ficlet, Gen, Mid-Canon, at the Party, this is not the scene I set out to write but here we are
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 01:37:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11863944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Overlord_Bethany/pseuds/Overlord_Bethany
Summary: Yes, that cousin.





	In which Tarvek contemplates his cousin

Martellus had chosen a daring costume, no doubt of that, but frankly he looked like an ass. He strutted about in his toga—good lord, a toga, and in the middle of winter—playing the preening peacock to his sister’s bright butterfly. Not to disparage Seffie in any way, of course. She looked flawless. Safe behind his mask, Tarvek smiled at the very idea of her first reaction to her brother’s costume. 

He supposed Tweedle had aimed for a regal look, what with that obnoxious headpiece and all, but he had missed. He looked like a sun god’s feckless younger brother. Seffie thought so too. Probably most of the guests missed the sidelong glances she slid his way, glances that betrayed only the leading edge of her monumental exasperation with her brother. Tarvek felt a deep fondness for Seffie. Of all his cousins, he thought her the most like himself, so of course he was also most wary of her. 

Martellus paraded himself through the party, trying just a bit too hard to play the perfect king. Tarvek should have felt annoyed by his bravado, but he could not manage it. Instead, he saw a boy like himself, a child who had grown up under the constant threat of never quite growing tall enough in a family of giants. A young man of royal blood who had heard every day, at every turn and every potential misstep, that there was another heir. A better heir. You are not indispensable. You can be replaced at any moment. 

Tarvek looked at his cousin, and he could not feel resentment. He could not muster envy or bitterness, nor even revulsion at Tweedle’s transparent need to make himself the center of attention. Tarvek looked at Martellus, and he felt nothing but pity. 

The cheese sculpture really was a bit much, though.


End file.
